Hunny Tree Waltz
by Topaz Fox
Summary: In the innocent paradise of the Hundred Acre Wood, Sora learns the power of will...and the power of true love. This story was previously called By Love's Will.


(Hey there! It's Topaz. Trying my hand at a happy story...I don't write many of those. I'd love to know your thoughts on this one! -Topaz)

Sora flopped down onto the grass and sighed. He wished it could be this nice everywhere he went. This was the only existing world where he could drop his guard and just…relax. He could feel the grass brush against the back of his neck, and it felt so refreshing, so reminiscent of his days at home, even though there was little grass there. He watched fat white clouds chase each other lazily through the sky, and felt the sun warm his face. The Hundred Acre Wood was paradise.

A tiny bee buzzed into Sora's line of vision. It was probably returning to its hive in the Hunny Tree… That reminded Sora that he was hungry, and Pooh probably was too. Perhaps he should go help Pooh get some lunch from the hollows of the Honey Tree. He suddenly laughed out loud at the idea of living off of honey. It was such an absurd thing, but so innocent and sweet. Just like this entire world…

There were no Heartless here. There probably won't ever be, thought Sora to himself. There's no Keyhole, none of the Seven Princesses, nothing but sky and grass. Maybe that was why neither Donald nor Goofy ever came here with Sora. Donald said it was always too boring, and he made Goofy stay with him in Merlin's House, because he didn't want to be "caught alone with that crazy old geezer." Sora smiled as he thought of Donald and Goofy. What wonderful friends he had.

Friends… Sora wanted his other friends back, too. Tidus and Wakka and Selphie…and Riku…and Kairi. If he ever found them all, maybe he'd bring them here. He could picture them all having fun together here, just like back on the island. Wakka throwing his blitzball around, Tidus whacking things with a stick, Selphie daydreaming, him and Riku sparring or racing, and Kairi just being Kairi. How he missed Kairi. He wished he could watch the sunset again with her, hear her melodic little laugh, sit there with his hand so close to hers.

As he looked at the flawless blue sky, he realized that he was very much in love with her.

If only she was there with him now. He would probably tell her his thoughts. He murmered under his breath, "Kairi…I love you." The words made him blush and shiver a bit, but they felt good.

And then, moved by the innocence of this world and the love in his own heart, Sora leapt up and began to dance an exaggerated waltz. He spun around on the green hillside, his arm around an invisible waist, his hand on an invisible shoulder. He felt like a young boy again. It was the only way he could think of to profess his love for Kairi. He imagined she was there, in that space of air he held so close…

Piglet happened to walk by and saw his new friend dancing with nobody. Piglet did not fully trust Sora, and he climbed up onto a rock to avoid being trampled under Sora's large feet. "W-what are you doing?" called Piglet, trying to make his tiny voice be heard. "I'm dancing," Sora called back, whirling by.

"Dancing w-with whom?"

"I'm dancing with…Kairi. I need to show her that I love her." Sora nearly sang those last three words. He was so happy, he could tell anyone anything at that moment. Piglet fidgeted on his perch. "I-I don't see her, Sora. Where is she?"

Sora remembered what Tarzan had said to him not too long ago. After showing Sora his world's Keyhole, Tarzan had said sternly, "Friends in heart. No have heart, no have friends." Sora touched where his heart was, without stopping his dance, and said to Piglet, "She's here. She's in my heart. I'll always have her near me."

And then, like a dream given flesh, she was there. Sora could suddenly feel her fingers interlace with his. She had her other arm loosely around Sora's neck, and she was smiling in her sunny, beautiful way. This wasn't the first time Sora had seen a vision of her; once, in Merlin's house, he thought he had seen here there in the room, talking to him just like always…and then she had disappeared. But now he felt her there with him. She was real; there was no question.

She was real! Sora realized how completely overjoyed those words made him. He had found Kairi at last! He felt stronger and faster than any gummi ship. He wished the moment would never end; he wished the two of them could dance and dance until they could only fall down on the grass, and then he could kiss her and whisper in her ear and make her laugh like he used to…

She seemed to radiate a kind of unearthly aura. Her hand felt warm in his, but deliciously so, and she smelled faintly of coconut, just like she always did. She looked happily, lovingly at Sora with her gorgeous violet eyes. She didn't say anything, but instead began to laugh.

Sora drank up the welcome sound. He hadn't heard her laugh in ages and ages, it seemed. It gave him an amazing energy. He, too, started to laugh. The both laughed and danced together under the ageless yellow sun. At that moment, there were only two people in that seamless storybook world: Sora and Kairi.

Kairi quietly stopped the dance and held Sora's hands in hers. A quick, tiny breeze rustled her smooth crimson-colored hair, and she smiled and let go of Sora's hands. He took a step forward, but she shook her head. "Not yet, Sora," came her sweet voice, like sad birdsong. "Not yet." To his dismay, she backed away from him. She looked at him one more time. "And Sora…I love you too."

And then she was gone.

At first, Sora felt like he was going to cry. Even on that most perfect of days in the Hundred Acre Wood, he felt utterly sorrowful and confused. Maybe she hadn't been real after all. He turned around to ask Piglet if he had just seen what had happened, but the small pig had vanished.

Something dawned on Sora. He had felt her hands in his, hadn't he? She had to be real. He had felt her there with him, after all. So then how did she appear there, and go away after their short time together? She had simply dissipated into thin air. Had he willed her to be there?

That was a comforting thought. He had willed her there. He wanted so badly for her to be with him that she came. It didn't seem possible, but Sora had a feeling that it was true. He became excited. What else could he do, just by believing he could do it?

Maybe he could be a hero, and save the world…and maybe he could save Kairi. For good, this time. Sora knew what he had to do. He turned toward the Hunny Tree to tell Pooh and the others that he was leaving the Wood. He couldn't just hide here forever, and he knew that.

He would be a hero.

_-Fin-_


End file.
